How Street Taught Me To Shoot Lions

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I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit wonderful Kenya for the second time in my life. The first time around was almost two decades ago and it was at a time when my photography was not that developed. Someday I will go through the old slides and scan them... I made a promise to do so. I might even find a few worth sharing here, but my shots were more of scapes and trees and such, and rarely of wild animals... they simply were too fast for my skills at that time.

This time around I went with the best camera I ever owned and the best lenses I could afford, to try and shoot wild life like I never did before... literally, I have no experience in shooting wild life to draw upon... with the exception of that asphalt jungle. ;)

One Evening at a Red Light by batmantoo

As some of you might know, I have been doing some street photography of late... OK, OK, I've been mainly doing that. So I hoped to draw from these experiences on my safaris.

Elephant at Sunrise by batmantoo

My first big challenge was changing lenses. Some creatures were far away, then, moments later you get to stop in front of a couple of cheetahs meters from your jeep. It's not like they will wait until you get ready for them, even though they are quite leisurely in their movement. When shooting street you are out there with your favorite (slight) wide angle lens and don't need to worry about that. So shooting street did not help me with this skill.

But once I had the right lens on, I was quite fast in shooting what I felt was a telling moment. It even felt like the animals were posing for me, giving me choices for shots...

Masai Mara Cheetahs by batmantoo

... like models would... hmm, I might try model shooting next. :D

My next challenge was shooting with a tele-lens with an extender, which weighed twice the weight of my camera and the limited depth of field which came along. Here again, my street photography experience was no help. Yet once, I figured out how to hold the gear and hone in on my target, I was able to choose the appropriate DOF, frame, and shoot at the moment I liked the most.

Thomsons Gazelle by batmantoo

Although most shots I took were in the tele-range, and street photography is in the wide-angle-rage, both have something in common: they require that you shoot at the decisive instant. Which means that you need to observe and lean about your photographic subjects, and most of all, be interested in them.

Greater Blue-eared Starling by batmantoo

But then there are creatures whose beauty cannot be captured by any skill or technology we could reach... I can only say: go see them with your own eyes.

Simba by batmantoo

... but until then shoot some street, because :iconthe-yard-collective: is holding a challenge soon!


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AfricanObserver's avatar
Good photographers have core skills which are are a foundation for all forms. Street teaches one to think about your photography. And that leads to great images. Like these. The cheetah shot is one of the finest I have seen.

Glad you enjoyed Africa - you are welcome a little further south too ;)